


How It Started

by orphan_account



Series: Efflux of the Soul [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Non-Sexual Age Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-12 01:27:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5648740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Jim and his friends all got involved in non sexual age play</p>
            </blockquote>





	How It Started

**Author's Note:**

> There is never enough age play here to satisfy me. I figured I'd write some, and I am in a very Star Trek mood.

"Goddammit, Jim! Hold still, would you?" Bones grumbled. All he wanted was to give a check up. Really, that was it. It was standard procedure for when any crew member went down to a planet. Spock and the ensign that had gone down with them had both sat through their exams with ease. That was part of the reason the doctor had saved Jim for last. He knew Jim could be a struggle when it came to anything remotely medical. Bones wouldn't call it a phobia, per se, but it was in that ballpark.

Even though McCoy knew this and usually tried to be at least somewhat gentle, he couldn't help but become impatient with the man. It was just that Jim was squirming and whining and batting his hands away. It was getting on Bones's last nerve. "Jim! Let me do my job!"

"No," Jim whines, shrinking away from Bones's hand, "I'm fine, Bones. Really. Let me go to my quarters already."

McCoy shook his head, "You know protocol, Jim. If you would just be still, this would be over before you know it. Spock and Ensign Rogers were done in five minutes each," Bones said, hoping that n some miraculous event, Jim would just do what he said. 

Jim frowned. When McCoy started to scan him again, Jim, instead of whining or moving away, slapped the tricorder out of McCoy's hand. The device fell and clattered on the floor. The equipment lay on the floor in pieces, and McCoy could tell there would be no repairing it. Bones couldn't help but feel fury build up in him. Jim was being childish and stubborn and now he had broken expensive medical equipment. "What the hell is the matter with you!? Look at what you did, Jim! Jesus fucking Christ!"

Jim looked up with big blue eyes, and Bones was startled for a moment. It was that look. Bones didn't know how to describe it. It made Jim look lost and small and so vulnerable. Bones didn't have a name for it, and he didn't ever really think to name it. It very rarely showed up on Jim's face. There had been a handful of times Bones had seen it.

Once was when Jim had been exhausted, and that had been an understatement. Jim had only slept three hours in five days. It was the worst Bones had ever seen Jim's insomnia. Jim was shaking and crying very quietly by the fifth day, fairly delirious. He refused to let Bones touch him, and even get closer than about three feet away from him. Bones could remember very vividly the look in Jim's eyes as he hugged the blankets from his bed to his chest, telling Bones that all he wanted was to go to sleep. It had broken McCoy's heart. 

The next time, Bones had come back from Georgia a couple days earlier than he had expected. Joanna's spring break hadn't lasted as long as he thought it would, and there was no reason to stay in a house with Jocelyn all day long for two days. When he walked into the dorm room he shared with Jim, he was surprised to see Jim sitting cross legged on the floor, watching old cartoons on his PADD. Jim had looked up at him with so much shock and confusion, and then came "the look." Jim's hands shook as he turned off his PADD and hurried out of the room, mumbling some odd excuse to Bones as he passed him. 

The only other time Bones had seen the look was after Pike had died. It had been brief. McCoy offhandedly mentioned Pike. When all he got was silence, he raised his head to look at Jim. Jim looked back at him, that vulnerable hurt in his eyes. He raised his hand to his mouth, rubbing his thumb over his lower lip. Then he dropped it to his side, like it offended him and the look left him eyes. He shrugged at McCoy instead of answering. 

Now that look was back. And McCoy had no idea what to do. He was still so angry at Jim for his behavior, but this changed things. Something had to be wrong. Bones clenched his fist. Figuring out what was wrong would have to wait. As much as he enjoyed yelling, he didn't feel it was the right way to go with the situation. He needed to calm down. With contained irritation, he said, "James... Go stand in the corner for a little while."

The look left Jim's eyes and he turned red, "What?! You can't give me a... time out. I'm the captain. I'm... I'm not a little kid." Jim said, his voice wavering from embarrassment. Strangely enough, Bones felt like the last part was less directed towards him and more of an attempt for Jim to convince himself. 

"You broke my tricorder, and I'm angry. I don't want to deal with this right now. Go. Now!" Bones said. He pulled Jim off of the examination table by the arm and pushed him towards the corner. Jim looked back, face beet red, and eyes begging for McCoy to not force him into the horrifyingly childlike punishment.

 Jim stood in the corner for what felt like forever. He was trembling, and he could feel the hotness in his eyes of the tears that wanted to fall. He didn't want to be there. Standing in the corner was making everything so much worse, amplifying everything he was feeling, all of the stuff he really, really didn't want to feel. He wasn't sure if he could keep himself from crying if he slipped anymore than he already had. He was about to start crying when a hand touched his shoulder. Not Bones's; not heavy enough. 

Then it made sense when he heard Uhura's voice, "Ca- Jim?"

Jim turned around, keeping his eyes on his feet. He didn't want Uhura to seem him on the brink of tears.

Uhura took his hand. Her hand was so soft and she squeezed his fingers in hers, a warm, comforting gesture. She pulled him into McCoy's office where McCoy sat at his desk and Spock stood behind him. Jim might've thought it was an intervention if he could've thought of something that would intervene in. Uhura directed him to the seat in front of the desk, and he tentatively took it. He gave himself a moment to compose himself, to make sure his voice wouldn't crack for when he asked, "What's this about."

Bones opened his mouth to speak, but Uhura beat him to the punch, just as gentle and kind as before. It was a bit startling. Not because he didn't think she had the capability of being sweet, but because she typically wasn't like that towards him. She touched his hand again, though, and said, "We're worried about you, Jim. Leonard told us what happened earlier. We just want to know what's wrong."

Jim laughed.

Uhura looked back at McCoy and Spock, but they only gave her puzzled looks. Jim stopped laughing with a sigh, "Trust me, you don't want to know. It's, uh, a weird, pretty fucked thing with my mind. I've got it in control, though. There's no need to worry about it."

"What do you mean?" Bones asked.

Jim sighed. He looked significantly less broken than moments ago. In fact, he seemed very angry. "Look, it's just a... a thing, okay? It's been going on a while. Usually, I have better control over it. I just... lost it for a moment, okay? You really don't need to worry."

"Captain, it is in everyone's best interest that you disclose what this "thing" you refer to is. If you have a mental or physical condition, it is very important that at very least, Doctor McCoy be aware of it." Spock said, his words cold and very precise, but yet all three humans could detect the very human emotion of worry that Spock couldn't hide from them. 

"It's not... it's not a condition. I don't want to talk about this!" Jim yelled, and a second later, he deflated in his seat. He shrunk into himself, seeming smaller than every before.

Uhura took a breath, "I can tell you're upset by whatever the problem is, that you're embarrassed. But, Jim... all three of us respect you and care about you. There's no way you'd ever lose that from any of us. You don't have to be afraid to tell us. Especially when things are wrong. A lot of the time, good friends can help fix the biggest problems. Now, please just let us in."

Jim paused. He had never told anyone his secret before. He always imaged it going horribly wrong, with people screaming at him that he was gross, that he was a pervert, with people leaving, abandoning him. Maybe... just maybe he would be wrong. He took a deep breath and sat up, "Okay. But... Don't tell anyone else."

He waited until each of them nodded. Then he started, "Sometimes... I'm different than I am right now. In my head, I mean. I feel younger, uh, smaller. Sometimes, I can help it. Other times, I just can't and I act like a little kid. I don't mean to. I try to hide it. I've felt this way ever since I was a teenager. I know it's wrong, and weird, but I can't stop feeling the way I feel."

There was a moment of silence where Jim was sure he was going to be rejected. But then, "I don't think you're weird."

Jim looked up. Uhura was looking at him with conviction in her eyes, "I think that that sounds like a fantastic way to leave the stress that you carry behind. Everyone wants to a be a kid again sometimes. You're not weird at all, Jim."

Bones leaned forward and said, "I agree. Like Nyota said, that behavior can actually be very beneficial. In earlier years, it was often used as an anxiety therapy. Jim, as your physician, I would actually like you to explore these... urges. I think it would relieve a lot of your tension. Of course, if you aren't comfortable with it, I could assist you."

"Wait..." Jim scoffed, "You're saying you want to age play with me?"

Bones paused for a moment before slowly nodding, "Yeah. Yeah, Jim. I would."

"I would too," Uhura said, "I could help you like McCoy. Or I could even play alongside you. Sometimes it's easier with someone else, and I think it'd be fun to try. It can't hurt." 

Spock stepped forward, as if volunteering, "I too would assist you, Captain. I may not know much about earth children, but I would like to help."

Jim felt overwhelmed. The tears came back and it was harder this time to push them away. He held his face in his hands, "Why are you guys doing this? Why are you playing into my sick, disgusting wants. You deserve better than doing this for me."

"Don't you dare say that," Bones said, fire in his voice, "We're doing this because we want to. We're grown people, Jim. If we didn't want to do something, we wouldn't. Now, tell us what kind of things you'd like to do in your... oh, what's the term? Oh! Headspace. What do you want to do in your headspace?"

"I..." Jim looked up tentatively. All three of his colleagues were looking at him, expecting, and with absolutely not disgust on their faces. They weren't going to abandon him. He smiled just a little. "I like cartoons and, uh stuffed animals. I don't really know. I try _not_ to think about this kind of stuff!" 

Uhura touched his hand again, "Don't worry, Jim. We'll figure it out. This is what we're here for."

For the first time in a long time, Jim felt at ease when he heard those words.

 

**Author's Note:**

> There wasn't much in this, but I'm planning more. I'll write up the next installment when I get the time.


End file.
